Photo by John Upham, courtesy of British Chess News
IM Ali Mortazavi is an Iranian born former top British junior player and chess author who has gone on to attain significant success outside of the chess world. Ali has been an active investor in many small biotech companies and is currently the CEO of a publicly traded, UK-based biotech company called, E therapeutics. Despite his busy professional life, Ali frequently plays online blitz, solves endgame studies, and associates with his many chess friends. In our entertaining conversation Ali discusses British chess culture, his chess beginnings, and his encounters with notable chess figures like Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, Demis Hassabas (Creator of Alphazero), and his friend IM Lawrence Trent. Ali also discusses the ways that chess has helped his career and shares what he believes differentiates chess players from other people. You can find timestamps and relevant links for our conversation below.
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0:00- Ali tells the story of his early beginnings in chess.
Mentioned: GM Michael Adams , IM Michael Basman, World Youth Chess Championship, GM Matthew Sadler, GM Julian Hodgson, GM David Norwood
10:00- Patreon mailbag question- “What were Ali’s early encounters against GM Michael Adams like?”
13:00- What were Ali’s early encounters with GM Viswanathan Anand like?
15:30- Ali tells stories from some of his early chess travels.
22:00- Does Ali want to become a GM?
25:00- Ali was a pioneer in his work with chess computer software in the early 1990s. He tells some stories about working with Kasparov in those early days.
28:00- Ali tells the story of how chess helped him get his start in finance.
33:00- What makes chess players mentally tough?
35:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here:
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38:00- Ali discusses his impressions of and interactions with GM Fabiano Caruana, AlphaZero/DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Garry Kasparov and IM Lawrence Trent
Mentioned: Magnus Carlsen’s recent Poker Tournament
50:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. If you choose to subscribe to Aimchess, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.
52:00- What advice would Ali give to talented young chess players?
Mentioned: Episode 271 with GM Hans Niemann
57:00- Does Ali think the chess boom will last?
1:01:01- How many chess books has Ali read?
Mentioned: The Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations
1:04:00- Thanks to IM Ali Mortazavi for sharing his chess story. You can keep up with him and reach him via Twitter. https://twitter.com/AAMortazavi?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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